This Old School '39 Master Deluxe Was Beautifully Restored And Rendered "Precious" Once More.
Joel Garcia of Los Angeles, California, knew what he wanted but also knew that he would have to be patient to go about getting it. "I'd been looking for a '39 Chevy for about two years, until my wife found one in the Recycler," he says. "The car was in Oakland, California. I went up there one week later to pick it up and then I started working on it."
And so began the restoration of this once-proud '39 Chevy Master Deluxe. Joel spent the better part of the next year working on his "Precioso" '39, receiving help along the way from his fellow Old Memories Car Club-San Gabriel Valley chapter members and various SoCal customizing specialists. The project cost him mucho dinero, but Joel's been around the lowrider scene long enough to know that show-quality (and yet totally drivable) bombs don't just happen without writing a few four-figure checks and calling in a few favors.
The finished product is so "precious" that Lowrider Editorial staff members immediately began taking notice when the blue beauty starting popping up at various SoCal car shows. The word went out, a photo shoot was arranged and now we're pleased to present Precioso on our pages.
PreciosoOwner: Joel Garcia
Vehicle: '39 Chevrolet Master Deluxe
City/State: Los Angeles, California
Club: Old Memories C.C.-San Gabriel Valley
Engine/Drivetrain: 216-c.i.d. Chevy
Body/Paint: Angel's Body Shop in Huntington Park, California, smoothed the '39's classic contours and applied the dark blue paint. Juan Serrano at La Habra Plating in La Habra, California, took care of the chrome plating chores.
Interior: The OG mohair upholstery with woodgrain accents was the work of Mike Perez of La Puente, California.
Sound System: Nelson at Uniques Stereo Shop in Highland Park, California, came up with a clean system for the '39.
Suspension: The rickety old suspension was reworked and fitted with airbags by Joe at Ground Control in Chino, California.
Tires: Firestone Deluxe whitewalls
Wednesday, 1 August 2007
1939 Chevrolet Master Deluxe - Precioso
Mint Condition -1959 Ford Galaxie Skyliner
This Fine '59 Galaxie Makes The Grade As A Cleanly Restored Ford.
Ford aficionados maintain a special place in their hearts for the redesigned '59 line, which was promoted as having "Thunderbird elegance." The brightest light in the stellar lineup was the all-new Galaxie, intended to compete with several rivals, primarily Chevy's popular Impala. The most memorable of all '59 Fords (and the most valuable to collectors today) was the Galaxie Skyliner, which featured an all-steel retractable hardtop that would gracefully move into the trunk to transform the car into a convertible in 60 seconds. The '59 Galaxie was very well-received from the beginning and the marque continued to evolve with many beautiful models built over the next decade.
One appreciator of the '59 Galaxie is Armando Aguirre of Pico Rivera, California. A member of Lifestyle Car Club, Armando is a true blue Ford fanatic. Seeing a Ford in his future and knowing that a '59 Galaxie Skyliner was "becoming rarer to find," he reached for the stars when this particular two-tone mint green and white '59 was found in Palos Verdes, California.Armando spent the next year restoring the '59 to better than original condition. Helping him out were his two Chevy-loving brothers "Ziji" and Caesar, working out of Camino Real Collision Center in Pico Rivera. Though his brothers don't share his love for Fords, they did their best on Armando's '59 find, performing considerable "R&R" (replace and/or restore) work on the body, engine and suspension. As a result, this Galaxie is once again an out-of-this-world space age superstar car.
Mint ConditionOwner: Armando Aguirre
Vehicle: '59 Ford Galaxie Skyliner
City/State: Pico Rivera, California
Club: Lifestyle C.C.
Engine/Drivetrain: The stock 352-c.i.d. Ford engine/Cruise-O-Matic transmission combo was fully restored by Armando's brother "Ziji" at Camino Real Collision Center in Pico Rivera.
Body/Paint: Armando's other brother, Caesar, the owner of Camino Real Collision Center, resprayed the original two-tone mint green and white color scheme using DuPont paint.
Interior: Stock restored
Sound System: Stock
Suspension: Stock with "R&R" work by Armando and Ziji
Tires: 7.50x14 Firestone wide whitewall
Pressure Cooker - 1966 Lincoln Continental
The Heat Was On For This High-Speed '66 Lincoln Build.
The annual SEMA show in Las Vegas, Nevada, is the biggest aftermarket car event of the year. Tens of thousands of people in the industry show up to see the hundreds of cars and trucks on display. One of those cars was the bright orange '66 Lincoln Continental seen here, owned by James Bean of Las Vegas. How it got there, though, is a whole other story. But first, a little background.
James is a custom car guy, and has been for years, having owned a series of custom compacts and imports. Then he stumbled upon his dream ride, a '66 Lincoln Continental. His parents had bought one brand new and sold it in the '80s for way less than it was worth. Ever since then, James had wanted one, and after he found this '66 for $4K, he snatched it up and started in on it.
The car was in excellent running condition, which was good because James wanted to get it painted and done up in a fairly short amount of time. Enter Adam Hartley, a custom car builder and good friend of James. Adam's built a few SEMA cars in his time, and has quite a few magazine features and sponsors to show for it. He took James under his wing and said, "If you want to get this done for SEMA, you need to have $10 Gs and a lot of time to spare, or I can't help you." James gave Adam the go-ahead and the build was on.
Six months before SEMA, phone calls were being made, sponsors were being acquired and parts were being shipped. The car was on its way to being ready for the show. The car needed some bodywork, and James wanted a few things shaved, so he went to his friend Tony Leveck of Las Vegas to help him out with the process. The car was then blown apart to paint the jambs and get the car ready for paint. The interior was all gone, and the suspension wasn't done. It was now just two weeks before SEMA and the car was just a shell.
Time to get things moving! Things really flew by in the last two weeks. Adam, James and their mutual friend Anthony Pallan started to work on the suspension. Interesting fact about the Lincoln: it's a unibody. That's right, no frame to work with. So they went to town customizing the suspension to hold a set of 2600 Firestone airbags. The car could still go lower, but James wants to keep the integrity of the unibody in place. The car also has factory disc brakes, which is pretty impressive for a '66.
Next came the paint. In came Chris Haynes from Las Vegas to lay down the House of Kolor Tangelo Orange pearl. Chris painted the jambs and various interior pieces to match the car. Around that same time the custom roof was laid down. It's a brown vinyl phantom top with foam underneath, and it accents the car nicely. The painted car was reassembled with freshly chromed bumpers, done by APC in Las Vegas. While the car was being painted, the interior was off at Friend's Upholstery in Henderson, Nevada.
The car was completed just hours before SEMA, where it was a big hit, but there are still a few loose ends that James wants to clear up before he sells the car. That's right, James is selling this car. What's he planning on getting next? Believe it or not, another '65-'67 Lincoln. This time, he's going all out on it, as if this car wasn't enough. Maybe he'll work on getting it done in time for this year's SEMA show.
Vehicle: '66 Lincoln Continental
City/State: Las Vegas, Nevada
Club: No affiliation
Engine/Drivetrain: Stock 462-c.i.d. Ford
Body/Paint: Tony Leveck of Las Vegas shaved the side and front emblems, and then James and Tony blocked it out to perfection. Chris Haynes from Las Vegas laid down the House of Kolor Tangelo Orange pearl. Chris painted the jambs and various interior pieces to match the car. A custom brown vinyl phantom top accents the car nicely.
Interior: Friend's Upholstery in Henderson, Nevada, wrapped the seats in light brown ultra-leather with orange piping. James then bolted up a Colorado Customs billet steering wheel and adapter.
Sound System: N/A
Setup: Adam Hartley and Anthony Pallan helped James customize the unibody suspension to hold a set of four 2600 Firestone airbags with three Viair compressors, one 5-gallon tank, 1/2-inch DOT airline and 1/2-inch Parker valves.
Tires: P255/35-R20 Pirelli PZero Rossos
M Is For Montego - 1968 Mercury Montego
Armando's '68 Mercury Isn't Your Run Of The Mill Lowrider.
When most lowriders think about building a new project car, what immediately comes to mind are cars like Chevy Impalas, Monte Carlos, those old Deluxes and anything else that came from General Motors. But what about Mercury? No, not the planet, the automobile brand. You know, the car that your grandpa or grandma drove to church or to the local bingo parlor on Sundays.
Well, that was exactly what was told to Armando Torres of San Jacinto, California, when he told his friends and family that he was going to buy a worn-out '68 Mercury Montego. "Why, Armando?" was the cry from friends and family. That didn't change Armando's mind, and he bought the car anyway.The old Mercury had some wear and tear on it, and to the normal car builder, it had some potential, but unless you're a hardcore Ford fan, why build one? Well, for one thing, the car is a ragtop and how many '68 Mercury Montego ragtops have you seen cruising the freeways lately? Let's rephrase that. How many '68 Mercury Montegos have you seen period? That's exactly why Armando wanted to build one.
Armando is no stranger to building custom cars. You might remember his immaculate '58 Chevy Del Rey from the February '05 issue of Lowrider, which had the most incredible blue paint and killer interior. You might also remember that Armando is a custom upholster by trade, and along with his brother Jorge and their father, Armando Sr., they own Armando's Upholstery in San Jacinto. Armando, Jorge and Armando Sr. all had a hand in creating something on this ride with a lot of the work done in house.